It’s a bright and sunny morning in the Sunset City. There was a hot start to the day with an early morning heat pressing down, as the sun made it’s way over the mountain to establish a more lofty position overhead. It has been very warm in the parish for the last couple months. The dry season had arrived earlier than expected, replacing the green coloured mountains with brown of many different hues. The news from the region over the weekend said every month in the year so far has recorded temperatures higher than average when compared to similar months in previous years. The elders are optimistic, “It has been worst! At least we are still getting the occasional showers of rain which keeps the plants going.”
An escape from the sweltering heat is sorted out, and a haven is found in a quiet spot in the hillside, next to a river, where a cool breeze passes by ever so often. Although it is not as hot here as it was lower down to the town, the effects of the heat can be seen with brown covering most of the hillsides.
The 2016 St. Mark’s Celebrations are well underway, with the first round of the knockout narrow goal football and wind ball cricket competition completed, and only semi-finals and finals games remaining. The St. Mark’s Organisation for Development (SMOD) is doing a great job over seeing the smooth running of the celebrations with very little resources available at their disposal. The competitions are running smoothly with players showing a high level of motivation, discipline and competitive spirit. There are crowds around either the Alston George Park, or the Victoria Basketball Court every evening depending on the sporting activity, to support the teams in the local community, as all the teams in the competition are from the local villages. Narrow goal knockout football competition is played on the Victoria Basketball Court, and the wind ball knockout competition being is being hosted at the Alston George Park.
Last Saturday the crowd favourites, recording artists which goes by the stage name Goldmindz from St. Mark’s made an official return to the entertainment industry. They were interviewed on WeeFM Radio along with Young Wiz, a top entertainer from St. Mark’s who the world has only had a glimpse off, to date. These local super stars released some of their songs for the 2016 Grenada carnival season, and the radio station instantly ‘ran hot’, as the tracks sounded as they were all capable of being major international hits. The artists were asked about their plans for the St. Mark’s celebrations, where they would be performing and the likes… pause… it is possible the question was not intended for the artists themselves, but for the local businesses in St. Mark’s, so let us ask, “local business in St. Mark’s, what is happening in your area for the 2016 St. Mark’s Celebrations?”
There are some things in the community that are the responsibility of the government, there are some things that are the responsibility of the individual, there are some things that are the responsibility of the businesses, and there are some things that are the responsibility of development organisations. The St. Mark’s Celebrations has been created by the St. Mark’s Organisation for Development (previously known as the St. Mark’s Development Committee). The celebrations has been promoted by the SMOD and the calendar has been marked, St. Mark’s Celebration is official, people from all over come to St. Mark’s to join in the celebrations. When visitors come to St. Mark’s it is not the easiest to accommodate them here. It would be easier to accommodate visitors if there was a hotel functioning as a hotel, rather than as a function room where the only paying guest seems to be the SMOD.
New music releasing on Saturday morning, wind ball cricket in the Alston George Park in the evening, St. Mark’s is the place people would like to be, in a bar with a pot on fire in close proximity. No pots on fire! Nevermind, cricket is taking place by Alston George Park later, “let us go home bathe, eat and come back down the road.” Well one cricket team got the point as the other team failed to show up. So it is back to the bar. Shy’s Bar ‘always have it locked’ on the weekend, with live entertainment and a string of faithful customers. Everyone has a favourite bar. D.
Saturday night, St. Mark’s Celebrations 2016 underway and there is one bar in Victoria with entertainment for customers.
Tourists are passing through Victoria by the bus loads and there is hardly a welcoming bar or restaurant to cater for these travelled guests. There is not a hotel to cater for these travelled guests. If business owners minds cannot be in their own business, the government should be left with no other choice but to confiscate these so called business places and put them back into public use.